The original Carthay Circle Theatre is named for the shape of its auditorium: Although the building is square, the theater room itself is circular.

•The Carthay Circle neighborhood of Los Angeles took its name from the theater, not vice versa.

•There's a Carthay Circle replica in Florida, too: At Disney's Hollywood Studios park near Orlando, the building houses the Once Upon a Time memorabilia shop.

RESERVATIONS

There are two ways to make advance reservations at the Carthay Circle Restaurant:

•Call the Disney dining line at 714-781-DINE (714-781-3463).

•Email dine@disneyland.com; be sure to include your name and phone number, the date and time of your reservation request, and the number of people in your party.

Reservations can be made up to 60 days in advance.

For decades, it towered proudly over Los Angeles, a gleaming jewel in a string of movie palaces along the Wilshire corridor.

The Carthay Circle Theatre was more than just a movie house; it reveled in Hollywood's Golden Age, hosting premieres in a time when the stars and the movies – and the theaters – were big.

Click the photo to go behind the scenes at the Carthay Theater

Ultimately, it met an inglorious fate, leveled and replaced by a nondescript office building. Yet it stands proud again, reincarnated as a centerpiece of the revitalized Disney California Adventure park. In a way, it's this park's counterpart to Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle – but this movie palace is about 12 feet taller than the fairy-tale palace next door.

"This was a very significant theater," says Ray Spencer, creative director for the Buena Vista Street project that includes the Carthay Circle. "It seemed like a fitting icon at the end of Buena Vista Street."

This time around, though, it's not a movie palace: The new Carthay Circle Theatre houses a restaurant and lounge, along with a members-only hideaway few of us will be lucky to see.

In updating California Adventure, the Disney team looked to create the feel of Los Angeles in the '20s and '30s, when Walt Disney first came to Southern California. And the Carthay Circle Theatre played a pivotal role in the Disney story.

'DISNEY'S FOLLY'

After the success of Mickey Mouse and other animated shorts, Disney poured his heart and soul – and the fledgling company's resources – into his first-ever full-length animated film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." It pushed him to the financial brink – industry observers were calling the film "Disney's Folly" – and all eyes were on the Carthay when Snow White debuted there on Dec. 21, 1937.

"There was a lot riding on it," Spencer says.

The film was a huge hit, of course, and (as a plaque on the new Carthay Circle building notes) the rest is history.

Film history continued at the Carthay Circle, too, including the West Coast premiere of "Gone with the Wind" and an exclusive 39-week run of Disney's "Fantasia."

The new building pays homage to that history, inside and out. It's not a replica, but original developer J. Harvey McCarthy would likely do a double-take if he saw it from Buena Vista Street. From the colorful tile work to the iconic tower, the Spanish Revival exterior is the spitting image of its ancestor.

But not the interior: The original was dark – typical for movie houses of the time, but not a look that would resonate with today's parkgoers.

"The real theater had a very baroque interior," Spencer says. "If we had done that here, you wouldn't have associated the interior with the exterior."

The Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge at Disney California Adventure opens June 15, 2012. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Tile work onhe Carthay Circle Theatre building at Disney California Adventure recalls the original Carthay in Los Angeles. The Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge at Disney California Adventure opens June 15, 2012. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Light fixtures in the Carthay Circle Lounge are replicas of those in the original Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles. The lounge at Disney California Adventure opens June 15, 2012. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
From the fountain on Carthay Circle, the Carthay Circle Theatre building is seen. The restaurant and lounges inside open June 15, 2012. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A historic postcard shows the Carthay Circle Theatre during a film premiere.
A discreet plaque marks the entrance to the 1901 lounge, a members-only club hidden within the new Carthay Circle Theatre building at Disney California Adventure. The private lounge will be open only to members of Club 33, the membership-only restaurant hidden above New Orleans Square at Disneyland. The Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge at Disney California Adventure opens June 15, 2012. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The historic Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles is pictured in this 1926 photo. PHOTO COURTESY USC DIGITAL LIBRARY
A private dining room -- one of a handful of intimate spaces at the Carthay Circle Restaurant -- is located in the building's tower. The room, which can seat a party of 10, is decorated with historic photos. The Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge at Disney California Adventure opens June 15, 2012. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A place setting is ready in the dining room at the new Carthay Circle Restaurant, which opens June 15, 2012. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Among the images displayed at the Carthay Circle Restaurant is this 1954 photo of Walt Disney, armed with Oscars he won at the 26th annual Academy Awards, with Elizabeth Taylor and her husband, Michael Wilding. The Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge at Disney California Adventure opens June 15, 2012. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Two second-floor terraces provide outdoor seating for patrons at the Carthay Circle Restaurant, which opens June 15, 2012, at Disney California Adventure. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A pairing of historic photos shows the original Carthay Circle Theatre during a premiere, and Walt Disney behind the camera. The Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge at Disney California Adventure opens June 15, 2012. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A plaque on the new Carthay Circle Theatre building at Disney California Adventure recalls the famous Snow White premiere on Dec. 21, 1937, "at this theater." DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The historic Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles is pictured in this 1940 photograph. PHOTO COURTESY USC DIGITAL LIBRARY
Tile work on the Carthay Circle Theatre building recalls the original theater's Los Angeles location, with the Griffith Park Observatory in the background. The Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge at Disney California Adventure opens June 15, 2012. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Cast members' costumes add to the period feel at the Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge, which opens June 15, 2012. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Custom tile work leads to the doors to the Carthay Circle Theatre building at Disney California Adventure. The two doors at the left lead to the public lounge and restaurant; behind the third door is the private 1901 lounge. The Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge at Disney California Adventure opens June 15, 2012. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Performers walk past the Carthay Circle Theatre at Disney California Adventure on their way to a show. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The Carthay Circle Theatre is surrounded by bleachers of people during the premiere of "Wee Willie Winkie" in 1937. Five months later, Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" debuted at the same location. PHOTO COURTESY USC DIGITAL LIBRARY
The marquee at the Carthay Circle Theatre at Disney California Adventure reveals the building's true role as a restaurant and lounge. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Crowds of people and a caravan of cars in front of the Carthay Circle Theatre during the premiere of "Wee Willie Winkie" in 1937, five months before the premiere of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" at the same theater. PHOTO COURTESY USC DIGITAL LIBRARY
The Beverly, Crest and El Capitan theaters are recalled along Hollywood Boulevard at Disney California Adventure. The Carthay Circle Theatre will join them when the building opens as a restaurant and lounge on June 15, 2012. DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The Carthay Circle neighborhood in Los Angeles, near the original Carthay Circle Theatre, gets its name from the theater -- not vice versa. TEXT BY DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; PHOTO BY JOSH MCCONNELL VIA FLICKR
Ornate tile work decorates the tower at the new Carthay Circle Theatre in Disney California Adventure. TEXT BY DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; PHOTO BY "HARSHLIGHT" VIA FLICKR
A long shot of the crowds of people and caravans of cars in front of the Carthay Circle Theatre during the premiere of "Wee Willie Winkie" in 1937. Five months later, Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" debuted at the same theater. PHOTO COURTESY USC DIGITAL LIBRARY
A view of the Fox Carthay Circle Theatre as it housed the premiere of "Wee Willie Winkie" in 1937. Five months later, Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" debuted at the same theater. PHOTO COURTESY USC DIGITAL LIBRARY
A high-angle view from the side of the Fox Carthay Circle Theatre as people enter it during the premiere of "Wee Willie Winkie" in 1937, five months before Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" premiered at the same location. PHOTO COURTESY USC DIGITAL LIBRARY
A view of the Carthay Circle Theatre as it housed the premiere of "Wee Willie Winkie" in 1937. Five months later, Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" debuted at the same theater. PHOTO COURTESY USC DIGITAL LIBRARY
The Carthay Circle Theatre building at Disney's California Adventure is seen under construction on April 8, 2011. PHOTO BY LOREN JAVIER VIA FLICKR
The historic Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles was demolished in 1969 and replaced with the office building at the right. TEXT BY DAVID MEDZERIAN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; PHOTO FROM GOOGLE STREET VIEW
At Disney's Hollywood Studios near Orlando, a small replica of the Carthay Circle Theatre stands near the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride. PHOTO BY EVAN WOHRMAN VIA FLICKR

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